A little apprehensive and a whole lot excited, my fellow-reporter Jang and I headed out to face our first-ever day at sea armed with essentials. Sun block, swim suits and great big hats in tow, we began by finding our way South to Ao Yon, one of the most beautiful bays on Phuket, near Cape Panwa.

Not entirely sure of what lay ahead for us, we were glad of the warm, reassuring welcome from Rolien and Chris as we climbed into a rubber dingy called the ‘Camel’ for the small journey to go on board the Frog: a Firefly racing Catamaran designed and built, as Chris told us, right here on Phuket, and launched only a year ago.
The calm sea eased my worries about the trip and the safety of the camera. We clambered on board the Frog and stored our belongings. I found a safe place for my camera, and then sat on the spacey trampoline deck of the catamaran, split into two halves by the mast and the main sail, just right to find some shade when out on the open sea.
To my surprise, I soon found myself soothed by the calm glide of the Frog. Using the only the power of the wind, we were going at an impressive pace; even though there was not very much wind at all. To make matters even more pleasant, we didn’t see any other sailing boats around us. I could get used to this, I thought, as we wafted ever on.

The catamaran is equipped for both pleasure day trips and sail training, a subject very close to Chris’s heart. He truly believes that sailing is the last great adventure left on earth, open to all. Everyone can come and experience it and get to know the beautiful surroundings of Phuket.

“Many Thais and expats would benefit by learning to sail and adding this beautiful hobby to their lives,” he said. “They would come alive...”

A mere couple of hours into the trip and I knew exactly what he meant. It was rejuvenating.

Both complete beginners and fairly experienced people who want to top up their sailing skills are among those who come to the Andaman Sea Club for training. Anyone, even without any sailing experience can come and learn to sail in these quiet and safe waters.

The Andaman Sea Club even sponsors a small learn to sail operation for children at the Phuket Yacht Club.

I tried my hand and learned a little how to steer the boat and catch the wind in the sails.

When you have it just right, the boat hisses relaxed through the water and the speed goes up. It's an amazing feeling and I can understand why so many people come to love this sport.

The other passengers on board seemed as delighted, with one passenger revealing wistfully that he would like to sail under the stars -- which turned out to be no problem – as Chris and Rolien even do full-moon trips.

They also have different boats they can call upon for company parties and also live-aboard trips.

We sailed all the way to Koh Racha, which took us about 2 hours. After mooring up to a buoy -- to avoid dropping an anchor and possibly damaging the coral, Rolien explained -- we put on our swimming costumes and grabbed some snorkeling gear to explore the crystal clear waters of the bay.

Some very pretty fish did their own share of exploration...of me, when someone threw biscuit crumbs just near me. Delightful. When we had enough of frolicking with the fish, we went ashore for lunch on the island – where a very large monitor lizard wandering about caused a minor stir.

On the way back the wind made us wait a little...but once it came we had a good sail again. They even put up the huge Spinnaker to catch more wind.

The Frog can take seven on deck, besides her skipper and co-skipper.
One could even at a pinch, live aboard. There are ice-boxes, a toilet and in the hulls is just enough room for four bunks.

If they do overnight trips, however, they prefer to use small island resorts so guests can enjoy a good night's slumber.

For more information call Rolien or Chris at 085 0690940 or check www.andaman-sea-club.com